The NIH has initiated a new research training program for medical, dental, and veterinary students called the NIH Medical Research Scholars Program (MRSP). This is a comprehensive year-long research enrichment program designed to provide a broad scope of skills and training experiences appropriate for future research leaders in academic, private-sector, and government institutions. It will also help address the urgent need for a pipeline of qualified physician and dental scientists who can conduct the full range of biomedical research and whose numbers are diminishing.

The NIH has a long history of dedication and commitment to training and preparing future clinician-scientists and medical researchers for leadership roles in biomedical research, and this program combines the elements of two distinct but overlapping and highly successful NIH-based programs— the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)-NIH Research Scholars Program and the NIH Clinical Research Training (CRTP) Program. The HHMI-NIH Research Scholars Program has historically focused on research in the basic sciences. CRTP participants engage in clinical and translational research. Basic, clinical, and translational research will be part of the MRSP.

The NIH MRSP will provide the opportunity for a talented and diverse pool of students to carry out research across the full spectrum of laboratory, translational, and clinical opportunities in the interests of the public health. The program will be rigorous and hands-on, offering exposure to and involvement with the full continuum of biomedical research— from basic to translational to clinical, including computational biology, medical informatics, and other emerging areas of contemporary science.

· Each Scholar will have a well-articulated career development plan and a dedicated advisor/mentor.

· The proposed curriculum, still under development, will offer several options: 1) clinical protocol development and the conduct of human subjects research; 2) seminal basic, translational and clinical research topics highlighting the continuum of discovery; 3) participation in clinical rounds focusing on the rich patient population in the NIH Clinical Center; and other content.

· There will be interactions with leaders at the NIH, including Institute Directors, Scientific and Clinical Directors, highly creative and productive principal investigators, and established investigators from academic medical centers and universities. A regular lecture series featuring these individuals will provide opportunities for the participants to learn more about the scientific discovery process as well as science policy, issues in bioethics, and emerging technologies.

· There will be additional meetings with research advisors, tutors, and NIH leadership.

· Scientific meetings and workshops at HHMI headquarters and Janelia Farm will be made available for some of the participants.

· Scholars will have the opportunity to present their own work and participate in journal clubs to discuss new developments in their research fields.

· All the educational and scientific resources, the intellectual excitement, and the spirit of inquiry at the NIH are available for the students to experience.

· Since this is a residential program, comfortable furnished apartments, either on the NIH campus or very proximal to the campus, will be available at fair market rates.

Program applications will be accepted October 1, 2011 through mid-January 2012. The MRSP will accept at least 40 participants during the first year (2012-2013) of the NIH Medical Research Scholars Program. The goal is to ultimately have a participant capacity of approximately 70 medical, dental, and veterinary students who will work in the NIH Intramural Research.

For additional information including eligibility criteria, and to apply please visit the NIH Clinical Center’s Office of Clinical Research Training and Medical Education website at: